Farm Progress Show Begins With Emphasis On Biofuels

By The Associated Press
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - Corn is front and center at the annual Farm Progess Show, which will got under way Thuesday near Decatur.

Farm Progress Show manager Matt Jungmann says after years of talk about the money farmers might one day make when their corn is turned into ethanol for fuel, the payoff has begun.

American farmers have planted more corn than ever this year and prices have stayed high, largely because of demand for ethanol.

Prices are good for soybeans, too, another crop touted for its biofuel potential.

Jungmann says 475 companies are displaying products ranging from multi-ton combines to high-tech corn and wheat seeds. He expects 100,000 or more people to attend. The staff of the University of Illinois Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER)are among those attending. The CABER display can be found in the U of I tent, located on West Progress Avenue. Orange and blue Illini flags mark the large U of I tent displays.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns is expected to conduct a one-hour program on the 2007 farm bill and keynote a panel session on pending free trade agreements on Wednesday. Johanns' farm bill program will be hosted by broadcaster, Orion Samuelson, at 12:30 CDT on the show grounds. Johanns is then scheduled to join panelists - American Farm Bureau president Bob Stallman and National Pork Producers Council president Jill Appell - in a discussion on the free trade agreements.

WQAD-TV/The Associated Press--August 28, 2007